Hop Bomber Pale Ale | Rivertown Brewery & Barrel House

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Pours a bright pale copper hue with a light white head forming thick with fine bubbles speckled on the sides of my glass. Aroma has a nice cereal malted barley smell with some citrus and earthy hop notes coming through to complement the malts. The rye comes through with a bit of spiciness in the flavor and the English malts brings a twist on your standard APA I still wouldn't call this an English pale ale but as it warms a hint of diacetyl comes about. Not sure if it is intended or not but it has a weird wet cardboard butterscotch tone going on. Mouthfeel is medium to lighter bodied with moderate carbonation, the diacetyl sticks around with each sip really detracting from the overall enjoyment factor for me.

6er purchased at Vonderhaar's in Reading. Poured into an imperial pint.

A: Pours a dark amber with pretty good clarity. Maybe a half inch of head on the pour with little retention and decent spotty lacing.

S: The description on their website says it's dry hopped but I'm not really getting much hop aroma. Some light malts. Hardly any aroma.

T/M: Decent bitterness level. Some light citrus, maybe some pine. Malts definitely balance and the light rye adds a nice complexity with the touch of spiciness. Body is about medium with a good carbonation level. Some dryness on the finish.

D: Drinks easily enough and the touch of rye keeps it interesting. Might be a bit overbalanced to the malt side but that's probably just me wanting a super hopped IPA whenever I drink an APA.

A light caramel malt aroma balances well with a light citrus to slightly bitter hops and even lighter yeast notes.

Lightly roasted caramel malts blend very well with a variety of hops notes including light citrus and light bittering.

A dry aftertaste that harbors some of the caramel notes from the taste on this medium bodied beer.

A light tasting pale ale with some strong tastes, I was very pleased with this beer, very good without being overbearing.
Although I like overbearing hopsy beers I really see a need for beers that have a distinct hops taste but on the lighter side. This is a great beer to help bridge the gaps from one style to another without losing taste.

This pale ale is actually a medium orange color. There's lots of clarity all the way through. Though it reaches two fingers, the head looks to be pretty sparsely constructed. Retention is okay, but certainly not especially good. It spreads out to the edges, and what goes out there sticks to the glass in spotting.
Steely, somwhat metallic hops greet the nose. A little bit of tast and a dusky sort of earthiness are also present. Very light caramel notes add some malty balance.
Leaf, lots of floral and rind-like bitterness as well as light resinous notes, and a mix of earth and spiciness almost like rye greet and mingle with some sourdough, citrus zest and a very light note of caramel for good balance. Both the smell and taste could use some depth, but it fits the bill.
While crisp and fairly smooth, the feel goes a little too thin in this light-bodied brew. Crispness, while consistent through most of the session, fades a little toward the end.

This attractive pale ale pours a clean amber in my glass, with a thick head of bone-white foam. Decent spoke-style lacing.

Olfactory-pleasing, with touches of pine and orange.

The taste is mild, but distinctive and full of character. I get some citrus hops notes up front, with mostly orange peel, followed up with a malty backbone that smoothes out the hops and suppresses the bitterness. This one's a sturdy, well-balanced, and very enjoyable ale.

I was able to try RiverTown's Hop Bomber during a recent visit to Cleveland. The beer poured a clear, copper/gold in color, with a nice head of frothy, off-white foam which laced. The scent included grain, toasted malt. The taste was mostly toasted malt with earthy hop note and hop-leaf flavor add balance. The mouthfeel was light to medium body with decent carbonation. Overall it was ok but I was expecting more.

lots of vibrant bitterness in many levels. the rye adds a nice crisp bitterness in the backbone. light pine with citrus hints complete the hop bitterness. a bit of an earthy hop flavor. well balanced all around as they both compliment each other. nothing was too overpowering and full of flavor.

moderate carbonation that stings the gums a bit. full bodied. very crisp.

this was one easy drinking APA. lots of fun flavor and never dull. i would happily drink this more often if i had the chance.

Served in a standard pint glass at Bodega on 6/8/11. Appears copper with a thin white head and some slight lacing left after each sip.

The aroma is subdued, with a tiny amount of sweet malts and citrus notes. The taste is more powerful with earthy and floral notes as well as some nice spicy rye malts, but still nothing that flows really well or that makes you think about each sip.

Medium bodied and carbonation, something that goes down fairly easily even without it being great tasting. Overall, this is a decent APA, but not overly impressed. The aroma was so faint and the appearance was just a little off as well. The taste was definitely the best part, but overall there are much better options for local APA's.